The football season is upon us and the Terps have themselves a showcase game at Byrd Stadium on Labor Day night. The Miami Hurricanes come to town to play in front of nationally televised audience (ESPN).

The University has done a good job of selling tickets and there is a good chance the game will be a sellout. That's no small feat during a holiday weekend in a market where the Terps compete against two NFL franchises.

Regardless, the Terps MUST win this game. Miami will be without 8 of their best players due to a widely publicized suspension. Among the missing are two key cogs from the defensive line as well as starting QB, Jacory Harris.

The Terps competed well against Miami last year in South Florida and I expect the Terps to come out without any fear.

Now the Terps have lost some "oomph" from last year's defense, so much of the pressure will rest on Danny O'Brien's shoulders. He's the reigning Rookie of the Year in the ACC and the owner of an impressive 22 TD against 4 INT freshman campaign.

The Terps will succeed and fail with O'Brien. Personally, I love the kid. I think he's capable to leading Maryland to one of its most successful seasons in years. The Terps will put up tons of points. If the defense comes through, it could be a special season.

Beating Miami is essential. At the end of the season, the computers won't be able to account for Miami's short-handedness. The computers will simply measure that Maryland beat Miami. That's it. It's time to see what Randy Edsall has built. A win here and the Terps could be headed for something special.

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Now, the other story brewing this weekend is the recruitment of Jerami Grant. He's reportedly narrowed his choice down to two schools: Rutgers and MD. Turgeon and his staff have done a remarkable job getting MD back in the mix.

It's hard to believe that Rutgers is even meriting consideration; but there is an AAU connection there and that has kept them in the game.

Grant is a DeMatha kid and it goes without saying that Maryland desperately needs to rebuild it's ties with the local prep powerhouse. Landing Grant would be a great start.

Expect an announcement from Grant early next week after completes his Rutgers and Maryland visit (during the Miami game).

Another recruit, the sublime Amile Jefferson will also be visiting during the Miami game. Jefferson would be a dream get for the Terps. The super-smooth small forward would look wonderful next to Shaq Cleare next season. He's got the potential to deliver 15-20 ppg as a freshman and he'll make the Terps an instant Top 20 team. When was the last time, the Terps were in the Top 20?

Nevermind. Let's focus on the football season. It should be a helluva of a ride.

As has been widely reported, the Terps have signed Ukranian phenom, Olexiy Len. Len is somewhere between 6'11" and 7'2". I'm not sure why there is a range; but I'm not complaining.
He recently average 16 points and 11 boards per game at the U18 FIBA Europe Championships. That's the same Tournament where Hawk Pa [...] Read More »

Pardon the pun; but I could not resist. Last week was just insane for me and I haven't had a minute to put my thoughts together on Shaq Cleare's commitment until now.
In full disclosure, I just took a new job about a month ago and I've taken on more responsibility and unfortunately, Turtle Soup has been a casualty. At least it [...] Read More »

I'm sure many of you have heard about it by now, but many sources have confirmed that Shaquille Cleare, the 4-star center verbally committed to the Terps today.
While many of us expected it, it's so nice to see the new regime close on a big time guy and hopefully this starts the snowball rolling to one heck of a 2012 class.
Nice job Bino for [...] Read More »

Say goodbye to the 'Terps', and say hello to 'Maryland'. Our new football jerseys were unveiled tonight in a fashion show on campus. There are no more references to 'Terps' on the helmet or uniforms as we had heard in previous weeks and, in my opinion, most of the stuff is pretty cool. The black, white, and red jerseys are sharp and the [...] Read More »

Sorry folks for the delay in opening up a new thread.
There has been a lot to talk about in the past week or so. From the Miami situation, which makes Ohio State look like they got busted for jaywalking; to the fact that the Terps are likely in a no-win situation on Sept. 5. If they win, they should have considering the Canes may be [...] Read More »

As if the Terps hoop team couldn't get much thinner, it looks like they will be losing another front court player as the Washington Times reported today that Hawk Palsson will be leaving school to pursue a pro career in Europe.
As we know, Palsson played in the Under 20 European tournament in Sarajevo recently and after averaging over 20 pts. an [...] Read More »

Trusted reader and Turtle Soup recruiting guru, DBR had an opportunity to speak with Naaman Forest High School Men's Basketball Coach, Jeff Clarkson, about his star player, Prince Ibeh. Below, in DBR's own words, is a summary of the conversation:
TERPS PUSHING FOR A PRINCE
Bigs have been on the minds of Terp Nation as new head coach Mark [...] Read More »

The Register-Citizen is Jordan Williams' hometown newspaper. Sports editor Dan Podheiser was kind enough to ask me to write a guest column for Sunday's paper about Jordan's prospects in the NBA.
As loyal Soup readers, I offer you an early crack at it. Enjoy!
Guest Column: Jordan Williams will struggle early on, but ultimate [...] Read More »

The good folks at College Football Zealots asked if I would be so kind as to participate in a Q and A about Maryland Football for their site. The piece on Maryland drops on July 1st; but I decided to cross post my answers here since things are pretty quiet on the basketball recruiting front. Enjoy! (PS: Don't say I don't care about the [...] Read More »